Week 12: Lack Of Discipline Hurt Bills
Too many penalties to overcome a lot of good in this loss.by Steve Saslow

Here are our position by position grades:

Quarterback:

Ryan Fitzpatrick was very accurate with his passes and was in control of the offense. He completed 26 of 39 passes for 264 yards and three TDs with no picks. He had a QB rating of 111.5. He did well despite lack of a running game and being under constant pressure. Grade A: Did well considering the rag tag lineup the Bills used because of injuries.

Running Backs:

C.J. Spiller made a nice catch on the run to convert a third down in the first quarter. He ran hard and did some good things but there was no running room for him as he finished with 2.9 yards per carry gaining 55 yards on 19 carries. Johnny White had one carry for two yards. Tashard Choice had two carries for -8 yards. Grade D: No room for the running game.

Receivers:

Stevie Johnson did well against Revis Island. He caught 8 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. It should have been a great day for him but two plays killed his game. He really hurt his team with a boneheaded celebration penalty where he acted out shooting himself in the leg like Plaxico Burress did. He then dropped a pass that may have gone for the winning touchdown in the final seconds. He also couldn't pull in a pass that was off line in the final seconds. David Nelson got open deep on the first series but pass was underthrown. Fitz went back to him on the 2nd series and he caught a TD pass on a slant pattern. Had a nice run after the catch to convert a third down. Finished with five catches for 47 yards. Brad Smith had a nice 17 yard catch reaching high for the Ball. He then showed great concentration coming down with a tipped ball and running it in for a 36 yard touchdown. He couldn't pull in a pass in the end zone on the final ill-fated drive. Finished with 4 catches for 77 yards. Scott Chandler caught a 13 yard pass to convert a third down in the first quarter. He was a good outlet receiver with six catches for 50 yards. He was beaten by Maybin for a sack. Grade C: Did a lot with a little but huge drop at the end cost them the game.

Offensive Line:

Chad Rinehart was called for holding on the Bills 2nd possession and a false start on the final drive. Chris Hairston started at left tackle despite Demetrius Bell being active. He was called for a false start penalty. Kraig Urbik played center and handled the snapping duties well. He was called for a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that negated a third down conversion. Erik Pears was called for holding on the Bills 2nd possession. He was beaten for a sack by Aaron Maybin. He got called for a personal foul that killed a Bills drive in the second half. Grade F: Only blocked for 3.1 yards per carry and had six penalties. Fitz was sacked three times and knocked down many times.

Defensive Line:

Marcell Dareus missed some time with an illness but returned. He was neutralized pretty well. He was called for a neutral zone infraction and a personal foul. He only had one tackle. Dwan Edwards didn't even make the stat sheet. Alex Carrington had one tackle. Kellen Heard had to play sometime in the middle with Dareus ill and Torell Troup inactive and had one tackle. Grade D: No pressure and a lot of holes for the running game as the Jets averaged 6 yards per carry on the ground.

Linebackers:

Nick Barnett was quiet until the Jets final drive when he made two big tackles. Finished with a team high 8 tackles. Kelvin Sheppard had two tackles. Spencer Johnson got burned for two long misdirection passes when he failed to control the edge. Arthur Moats had two tackles. Grade D: Didn't do anything to help with the pass rush or stopping the running game.

Secondary:

Drayton Florence dropped a sure interception in the first quarter when he stepped in front of a throw. He then picked off a pass in the 2nd quarter that setup a touchdown. He was then beaten badly by Burress for a touchdown late in the first half. He was beaten for a long completion on the Jets winning drive but also had a nice pass breakup on the same drive. Very up and down day for him. Aaron Williams broke up a pass in the end zone to Santonio Holmes. Did a nice job in coverage. Justin Rogers broke up a sure TD pass with a nice diving deflection and was in on another deep pass breakup. Jairus Byrd broke up a pass and had four tackles. Da'Norris Searcy started for George Wilson and had a nice pass breakup on a third down pass in the opening series. He was beaten by Keller for the Jets third touchdown. Beaten by Patrick Turner on a third down pass on the Jets final drive. Grade C+: Looked much better than recent weeks but gave up four touchdowns. Of course a pass rush would help them.

Special Teams:

Brian Moorman punted seven times, three landed inside the 20. Had a 44. 7 yard average and 38.9 yard net. Dave Rayner squibbed a kickoff but it hit an up man giving the Jets good field position to score a tying touchdown. He did nail a big 53 yard field goal to give the Bills the lead. Leodis McKelvin returned punts and kickoffs with Spiller playing more RB and Smith playing more WR. He had two kickoff returns for 43 yards. C.J. Spiller took over returns after McKelvin went out and had one punt return for 9 yards. Coverage Units did well. McKelvin had a big hit on a punt return holding Leonard to three yards and the Jets to start a drive at their 8. He then recovered a muffed punt but left with a rib injury. Held the league's best kick returner to a 26.5 yard average on four returns including a 30 yarder. Punt coverage held them to 21 yards on three returns. Grade C+: Long field goal and muff recovery were huge but squib kick was a bad idea and badly executed.

Coaching:

Chan Gailey had his team ready to play despite the injuries but all the penalties shows lack of discipline and that's on him. Gutsy call on the squib kick. George Edwards didn't do too much different but did seem to have more success than in other weeks. Bruce DeHaven the squib kick didn't work after it went off the up man. Grade C: They played hard but the result was the same.